


One Friend to Another

by StrictlyFromCorn (orphan_account)



Series: Fred Astaire x Ginger Rogers [17]
Category: 20th Century CE RPF, Astaire/Rogers RPF, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 19:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1755657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/StrictlyFromCorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 1937, Hollywood, Fred and George sit together and talk about the old days on Broadway - when the conversation suddenly turns to why Fred won't ask Ginger out on a date. The two best friends discuss their romantic situations, and have a little laugh along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Friend to Another

**Author's Note:**

> A kind of short-ish drabble I wrote in class because I simply got very bored. The friendship between Fred and George is SO important to me. <3 :D I hope you like it!  
> (And if you're wondering, let's just say that this is an AU in which Fred asks Ginger out, and then they get married because he isn't married. Also, George doesn't die of a brain tumor and he marries Kay. Everyone's happy!)  
> ...If only it had happened in real life, though.

“We’ve been friends for what… twenty years now, haven’t we, Fred?” The composer asked with a slight grin as he started to blow smoke rings from his pipe. The two friends were sitting on the floor in the empty rehearsal room, having stayed late to practice, just like during their days on Broadway. “That’s a pretty long time, between you and me.” They had met in Tin Pan Alley when they were both teenagers, dreaming of cracking the theatre scene someday and doing musical comedy. Well, they’d done it - and that too, together.

“Come to think of it, yeah, twenty years is quite a while.” Fred replied, trying to stretch his sore limbs. “Ugh, it’s really gonna hurt to dance tomorrow.” He muttered under his breath, hating it when his left leg acted up because he worked himself too hard.

“Tell me something - as a friend to another friend. I’m going to be direct here, because I know you hate beating about the bush. Do you love Ginger?” George asked all of a sudden, a thousand questions in his mind at that moment. He had heard so much about the team that he’d helped to bring together in New York in 1930, and there was plenty of speculation that Fred and Ginger were in love with each other. George hadn’t paid much attention in New York, but after arriving in Hollywood to do the music for one of their movies, he had concluded that the two were crazy about each other. He wanted to hear it from Fred himself, though - and he was sure that his best friend wouldn’t lie to him about something as serious as that.

“What?” The dancer was a little surprised at the bluntness of the question, and he fell silent for a minute, trying to think of a proper answer. “I…” Fred stammered, blinking rapidly, trying not to show how flustered he was by the inquiry. “Well, yes. Yes, I love her. I love her madly.” He decided finally, knowing better than to make an excuse to George, the man whom he trusted the most in the world.

“Then why don’t you ask her?” The composer acted as if asking her out on a date was the most _obvious_ thing in the world - and it was to George, who wasn’t at all afraid of the fear of rejection. Just about every girl he asked for a one-night-stand accepted - because he was so charming, so handsome, and so talented at the same time. He knew that Fred could have all the girls if he wanted to, as well, but his best friend wasn’t that kind of a person. He was loyal, and devoted to Ginger - there was no secret about it, in the way Fred behaved around her and talked about his dancing partner.

“Well…” He hesitated, trying to think of a proper reason as to why he hadn’t asked her out on a date just yet. There were plenty of justifications, but Fred’s mind was blanking - and he couldn’t think of something that George would accept. “She’s married… and besides, she’s going out with Jimmy Stewart.” There. Fred was above stealing someone else’s girl - even if he loved her with all his heart.

“You’re such an amateur, Fred.” George shook his head in slight amusement, trying not to betray how naive he thought his friend was when it came to these matters. “Now, look, are you _sure_ that she’s serious with Jimmy? That’s exactly what you thought with Lew, and the two of them are all washed up. Seriously, listen to me. You can save her a lot of potential heartbreak. Because I know you love her, genuinely.”

“Sure, I get what you’re saying, George…” Fred trailed off, making a vague gesture with his hand. “But it’s easier said than done.” He didn’t know where he was going to get the courage to ask Ginger, though, and it was strange. He could tease her mercilessly when they were rehearsing together, and when the time came, he could have deep, long conversations with her, but the dancer was still scared.

“Listen to me. You know how Kay and I are… an item, right?” George began slowly, an unmistakable smile on his face when he mentioned the girl he loved the most. “Well, she was married - and she even had kids, too, but she realized that she wasn’t happy with her husband. I mean, these things happen, and it’s quite possible that Ginger was just waiting all along for… you. But because you’re too scared to take action, well, she’ll go out with the next guy that _does_ ask her out on a date.”

“What, like you?” Fred burst out suddenly, having remembered his friend’s reputation as a womanizer. No - he wouldn’t dare to ask _his_ Ginger out.

“Relax, Fred. I won’t. Here, let me show you something.” The composer dug in his coat pocket for a minute, before retrieving a small blue case. “I got it back in New York, before I left, and it’s the first thing I plan to do when I return to Manhattan. Thank goodness I had some measurements from the last time I got Kay a ring - otherwise it would have been a real pain to get a ring that fit properly.” George grinned, seeing the amazement on Fred’s face as his best friend examined the diamond ring.

“Say, this is swell!” He let out a laugh and stared at the ring in wonderment, noticing how beautifully it reflected the light from the strong studio lights. “I can’t believe it, though - _you’re_ going to get married?”

“I guess you could say Kay drove me crazy enough to this point. It was eating at my sanity, because every girl I kissed could never measure up to her standards. I was thinking about her, all the time, every time. Granted, we kinda had a big argument before I came here… but you know what they say. Arguments are a sign of a healthy relationship.” Even the way George spoke about Kay was so different from any number of girls he’d been with. Fred knew his friend kept track of his exploits in his diary - but the dancer had no interest in all _that_. He was just indescribably happy that his friend was finally going to settle down. “We agreed not to talk to each other for the year that I’m here - you know, to give us both a little cooling time. Gee, it was a pretty bad disagreement, but every time I think about that, I look at this ring. I know she’s going to be so happy when she sees me at the airport, and… Sorry, I’m rambling again.” With a sheepish smile, the composer put the ring back into his coat pocket. “But a man’s got a right to ramble when he’s going to make the biggest decision of his life.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to fight Ira for the privilege of being best man at your wedding, then.” Fred joked with a lopsided grin, honestly still not comprehending the fact that George was going to get married, of all things. He didn’t seem like the type - but then again, he probably loved Kay enough to throw everything away for her.

“I’ll let you be best man at my wedding, if you get married to Ginger.” He replied with a sly smile, casually returning to their earlier topic of conversation. “C’mon, all of America is rooting for it to happen, and if you’ll pardon my bad metaphor, so is your heart.” George had thoroughly amused himself with the fan magazines that rambled endlessly about the relationship between Fred and Ginger, especially the angry letters about their lack of on-screen kisses.

“Is this what you do to all the girls? Pester them endlessly, until you get your way?” Fred asked sharply, still incredibly nervous at the thought of asking Ginger out on a date. “Sorry, I didn’t quite mean that, but-”

“I know you didn’t mean that. But there’s absolutely no reason for you to be afraid, Freddie. Trust me. Ask her tomorrow, all right? Go to the Trocadero or something. I know your head is full of romantic ideas.” George shrugged and exhaled more smoke with the pipe, ready to push his friend all the way up to Ginger if that was what it was going to take.

“I’ll… ask her tomorrow, in that case.” The dancer finally conceded with a sigh, realizing that there would be no use trying to fight with his friend all through the night. George was irritatingly persistent sometimes, and Fred figured he had absolutely nothing to lose anyway. If the studio heads were right and the Astaire/Rogers partnership was going to be split up soon, he was running out of time to ask Ginger on a date.

“That’s it.” George smiled, glad that Fred had given in. “Just you wait, someday you’re gonna be sitting here, rambling on about Ginger to Kay and me.” He had no doubts about whether the relationship between the two dancers was going to be successful or not - as far as he was concerned, they were already lovers, even off-screen. The way Ginger kept staring at Fred’s lips and vice-versa hadn’t gone unnoticed by everyone on-set, and gossip ran rampant all over the RKO lot. It was about time Fred consummated those rumors.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then, George. My leg’s killing me. I guess I’m going to have to think of some way to ask her out nicely.” Fred rose from his seat with a loud sigh, stretching his aching left leg again. “Don’t party too hard tonight.”

“Naw, don’t worry about me. I’ll tell you one thing, though-” George paused when his friend turned around. “The next time, you’re going to be complaining that your leg hurts because you and Ginge got too rough the night before.”

“Oh, my God, George, you _would_ say such a thing!” Fred burst out as he covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. The “proper” part of him dictated that he shouldn’t have found such a lewd joke so funny - but the majority of him found it much too amusing. George was the one who would crack such jokes, and the worst part was that it was the truth.

“I’m only speaking the truth, Freddie, and you know it.” The composer barely suppressed the grin from making his modest friend laugh at such a thing.

“I wonder how I put up with you, George… and for _twenty years_!”


End file.
